Ailing Chavez returns to cheers

Tuesday

Feb 19, 2013 at 12:01 AMFeb 19, 2013 at 12:29 PM

CARACAS, Venezuela - President Hugo Chavez returned to Venezuela early yesterday after more than two months of treatment in Cuba following cancer surgery, his government said. The announcement triggered street celebrations by supporters who welcomed him home.

CARACAS, Venezuela — President Hugo Chavez returned to Venezuela early yesterday after more than two months of treatment in Cuba following cancer surgery, his government said. The announcement triggered street celebrations by supporters who welcomed him home.

Chavez’s return was announced in a series of three messages on his Twitter account, the first of them reading: “We’ve arrived once again in our Venezuelan homeland. Thank you, my God!! Thank you, beloved nation!! We will continue our treatment here.”

They were the first messages to appear on Chavez’s Twitter account since Nov. 1.

“I’m clinging to Christ and trusting in my doctors and nurses,” another tweet on Chavez’s account said. “Onward toward victory always!! We will live and we will triumph!!”

Vice President Nicolas Maduro said that Chavez arrived at 2:30 a.m. and was taken to the Dr. Carlos Arvelo Military Hospital in Caracas, where he will continue his treatment.

Chavez’s announced return to Caracas came less than three days after the government released the first photos of the president in more than two months, showing him looking bloated and smiling. Questions remain about where he stands in a struggle with an undisclosed type of pelvic cancer.